by Believe in Students | Nov 26, 2024 | Blog
Believe in Students was founded in 2016, at the dawn of the first Trump administration. After years of changing higher education finances, the burden on students had become so great that studies regularly showed that more than half of all college students struggled...
by Believe in Students | Oct 10, 2024 | Blog
I arrived at Believe in Students in April 2020, just as the pandemic was rocking the world and changing college campuses, in some ways permanently. My job when I arrived was to figure out how to utilize incredibly generous philanthropic support to provide emergency...
by Brittney Pless | May 7, 2024 | Blog, Letters from our Executive Director
Like many people I know, I spent many hours as a child “playing school” in my basement. Occasionally I had to be the student while my younger sister bossed me around, but mostly, I was the teacher. Looking back, there were a shocking number of unruly imaginary...
by Believe in Students | Apr 1, 2024 | Blog, Letters from our Executive Director
Dear Friend: We are in an extraordinarily challenging time for higher education. In 2020, the pandemic helped shed light on the issues we have long known are true: the increase in the price of college for students and the accompanying rise in basic needs insecurity...
by Believe in Students | Feb 29, 2024 | Blog
I was a young child when Black History Month came to national consciousness. I remember my dad using the opportunity to teach me, barely in school, about the history of Black achievement and leadership in this country. As an Iowan, I learned about George Washington...
by Believe in Students | Feb 28, 2024 | Blog
There are many aspects of Black History Month that I hold close to my heart. However, a couple stand out, especially as I reflect on how often I am the only Black person in many of the professional spaces I occupy. First, I am profoundly moved by the purposeful,...
